A reassessment of how sector organisations connect with ethnic communities is needed

A complete reassessment of the way both public and private sector organisations choose to connect with ethnic minority communities is urgently needed, says Neena Kent, Director of national ethnic recruitment newspaper, Works for Me.

The methods adopted by some large organisations to boost numbers of Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) workers in their ranks is woefully inadequate, argues Ms. Kent, who believes that workforce diversity as an ideal is still far off the mark.

ìIn most cases, the problem isnít the will, itís the way,î says Ms. Kent, who believes best practice can be achieved, if handled in the right way.

Itís safe to say that most recruiters are open to the idea of creating and maintaining a workforce thatís reflective of society, and is a main reason why they attend annual conferences on the subject. Companies are fully aware of the positive impact that diversity can have on business, but the problem lies in their inability to source the right candidates from these communities. Successful targeting to make sure the right people see your vacancy is half the battle. Once that bridge is crossed, subsequent recruitment becomes a lot easier.î

She continued, stating that recruitment publications such as Works for Me, which targets a number of ethnic minority communities through culturally-specific content and focussed distribution into BME-rich areas, are regularly over-looked by the very organisations claiming to be working towards diversity.

ìItís a case of habit-buying,î claims Ms. Kent. ìOnce an organisation is told by a publication that their vacancies are being seen by a accurate cross-section of the community, the likelihood that it will be accepted without any question is pretty high. The problem arises when an ethnic newspaper, which targets the very people these companies claim they are attempting to attract, is over-looked. This raises some fundamental questions concerning the validity of some companiesí diversity recruitment ideals.î

As the first ethnic newspaper of its kind in the UK, Works for Me has enjoyed steady growth since its launch in 2003 ñ quickly becoming a source of information and guidance for young jobseekers from Black and Minority Ethnic communities.

Advertisers that have, and continue to, successfully recruit from its pages include the Environment Agency, Royal Navy, Transport for London, Highways Agency and West Midlands Police ñ which is currently running a language-specific campaign to recruit from Bengali, Gujarati and Chinese communities, amongst others.

ìRecruiters who donít consider ethnic-specific publications like Works for Me, are not only forgoing a cost-effective recruitment channel that taps into the heart of the Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, but are also sending out a negative message in the process,î concludes Ms. Kent.